Electric self-winding clock.



J.. STEIGBR M. BESAN'oN.

\ ELEUTRIU SELF WINDING CLOCK.l

APPLIOATIoN FILED rms. 11, 1901, Y I .y

' PatentedAug. 117', 1909.

J. STEIGER & J'. BBsANgoM ELETRICSBLP WINDING CLOCK. ArPpIpATIoN FILEDnn.-11,1`907. l 931,157.1 Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

.motor not being shown.

JACOB STEIGER'AND JMES eEsaNoN, or LA cHAUX-nE-Fonns, SWITZERLAND.

. ELECTRIC SELF-WINDING CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 19o9'.`

Application inea February 11, 1907. serial No. staart.

To all whomit 'may concern:

Be it known thatl we, J Aeon STEiGER and JMES Besancon, citizens ofSwitzerlani'l,

residingat La Chaux-dc-Fonds, Canton of Neuchtel, Switzerland, have'invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Self- Winding Clocks,of which the following is a specification.

The annexed drawing given by way of example shows an embodimentJ of theinvention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation. Fig. 2 is a part' section, following theline A-B ofFi 1. Fig. 3 is a sectionfollowing the line G- of Fig. 1..Fig. 3a is a section on line E-F of- Fig. 3. Fig. 4is a rear elevation,the electric Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show in elevation the commute-tor in threedifferent positions. Fig.`8 is a plan of the above mentionedinterrupting commutator. The driving weight av is suspended by the *cordl) which is wound around the dium c secured' on the arbor d. In order towind the clock, this drum is actuated by a wheel c by means of a clickfpivoted on the wheel e and constantly tending, under the action of aspring q to enter a notch h in the end wall 'i of the drum c. (')n theother hand, this drum carries lixcd against its opposite end. wall 7c, a.ratchet wheel l, which engages,

`when the weight e descends with a click 'm' carried by a secondratchctwheel nwliicliis loose on the arbor d. A safety' click o car riedby a plate of the movement engages the A spring p acts on` teeth of theratchet fn. the click fm.;

Against theratchct n is placed a wheel q loose on thc arbor (l: when theweight e de sconds this wliecl`is constrained to inovc hy tho ratchet nby means of a spring 1*, one end of .which is secured to the ratchet bya screw s, while its other end acts Vagainst an arm t ofy the wliccl q.lliis wheel actuates the clock movement, which comprises an escapement-`wheel u the pinion u oll which is actuated by the said Wheel q throughthe intermediary of pinions and wheels ai, y, z and 1. TheseI trains arepivoted in two plates 2 and`3.

The` other members of the clockwork movement such as the Amotion work,hands,

dial etc. are not sliownin the/drawing.

The wheel e is actuated by a pinion 4 iixed on the shaft 5 voi a smallclectric'motor 6 through the intormodiaryof pinions and ,wheels,7, S, 9,1l), 11 and 12, the various spindles of which are pivotcd in two bridges13 and 14, secured'respectively against theplate's 2 and 3.

The brushes 15 and 16 in contact with the comm'utator 17 of the niotor6, are connected by the conductors 18 and 19 to the, contact pieces 20and 21, 22 and 23, carried by two fixed pieces 24 and 25 of insulatedmaterial: the piece l24 carries the two contacts 20 and 21 insulated"and placed side by side, while` the piece 25 carries the two contacts22 and 23, similarly insulated and placed side by side.

The conductors 26 and 27 connecting the lower contacts 20 and 21 withthe upper contacts .22 and 23, are crossed, as shown diagraminaticallyin the right hand side of- Fig..

8, that is to say, the conductor 26 leading. from the lower left handcontact 20 is con: nected to the upper iight hand Contact 23 while thelower right hand contact 21 is connected to the upper contact 22 at the`left. l

The pieces 24 and 25 are, carried by a platef-ff if 2,8 securedagainstthe plate 3,

A fork 29 carries a piece 30.0f insulating.. material, on which arefixed, insulated vfrom each other, two. metal blades 31 and 32. The'fork29. is at one end pivoted in a bridge, late3, and at the other 33screwed on the end, loose on the en 34 of the arbor 35 carrying two arms36 and 37.

A helical spring 38 1s secured, on one hand,

to the plate 3 and on the other hand, to a bar 39 which is secured tothe fork29, thisibar traverses the plate 2S, through an elongatedopening40 in this plate, and is engagedin a slide 4 l's0lid with the arbor 35.by."

The position of the spring 38 relativeto the fork is such that it tendsalways to maintain the blades 31 and 32 incontact either vwith the uppercontacts 22 and 23 or with the lower contacts 20 and 21 accordingas thefork receives from the bar 39 and the slide 41 a certain impulseupwardly or downi wardly. p

The blade 31 is connected by a flexible conductor 42 to the negativevpole of the source of electricity 45, while the blade TS2-isA connectedby a flexible conductor 44 to the` Thus, Whenithe ositive pole of thissource.

Ylades 31, 32 are not in contact with any of the contacts 20 to 23, nocurrent reachestlie I niotor and this is stopped. Inversely, if

these blades are in Contact with the lower` contacts 20 aiid.21 thecurrent fromr 43 will' and if these blades are in ,contact with thecause the 'motor 6 to rotate in one direction, 4

' the'wheel g, in a beak 53.

` ofthe a plication of a key for win requin;

` position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, no current 45.' passing to t e motor.

.cre

' and which terminates toward the bottom at secured an arm 54, to theupper part of which is secured a helical spring '55 which is itself 4through 'a suiiic'ientlangle in one direction or I arbor 35 is producedby the pins 57 and 58 'clockworkz this movement, in the example* shown,gives to the Wheelvqone` revolution upper contacts 22 and 23 the motorwill rotate in the opposite direction.

Ls" On the plate 28, above the opening 40, is ivoted at a dog 46whichtends to 'rest reely suspended by itsownweight (Fig. 7)

one side' in a beak or nose 47 and at the other in a heel 48 againstwhich may abut a finger 49 secured to an arm 50: this arm is pivoted at51 on the plate 28, and tends to rest by its y own weight on a stop 52and terminates, near At the lend of the arbor'35 opposite 34 is securedat 56 to the late 2 in such manner that the-axis is slight y inclined tothe right. The vslide 41 rests on the beak47 -ofthe dog 46 (Fig. 1):when the arbor oscillates the other, it is powerfully pulled by thisspring in the direction corresponding' to the oscillation ofthe saidarbor andthus may occupy either the osition 541v or the posltion .54.This osc letorymovement of the fixed one on each side of the wheel eonthe same diametrical-` line -of thisl wheel. The arm is actuated bytwo ins 59 and 60 se cured on the same side oit le wheel q and on thesame diametrical lineQof this wheel.

The shaft d ofthe druihc is provided with an extension 61 of squaresection irmitting'.

ing, when the weight a,`for example at the time o rst starting ofthemovement-ofthe in -16 hours.

Thef weight@ being 'once Wound upn as startin by reason ofv the wheelqjthe members o the winding up device' occupy the The whee g during theworking of the clockwork movement, rotates in the direction of the arrow62 (Figs. 1 Aand 5) and'in the course of the eighth hour of Working tliepin lifts the-'arm 50'by its beak 53: the inger/49 of this arm thenabuts against the heel `48 q the dog 46-and causes the same to osgocillatethe beak 47 of which ceases to support the slide 41, vwhichrests-at 63 o n the-'arm 50` (Fig. 5 At-the moment when the piri 60ceases to support vthe arm 50, this falls quickly on its stop 52, (Fig.I6) ceaslng to sup ort the slide 41, which moves the br'39,\ oscl iatingthe fork 29 and the arbor 35,", .which immediatelylr puts the blades 31and 32 in cqn'tact witht e contacts 20 and 21, the a'nr"4occupying theposition 541` (Fig. 1). Immediately the current from the source-43antuates the motor 6 which beginsto rotate actuating the drum c in thedirectionpf the declare as new and wish to secure1by Letters arrow 65(Fig. 6) until the moment when the pin -57 acts on the arm 36 of thearbor 35.

-During the winding period thecontinuation of the working ofA theclockwork movement l is insured by 'the driving spring 1' (Fi s..1, 3and 3) which has been` tensloned by the action of the weight a.

When the pin 57 comes into the Kposition in Fig. 7 the oscillatorymovement produced on the arbor 35 is suiicient to cause the arm 54 to bequickly drawn back by its spring 55 and to occupy the position 542:during -this rapid 4movement the lower art of the slide 211 operates onthe bar 39 an produces theimmediate contact of the blades 31 and 32 withthe upper contacts 22 and 23 (Fig. 7) sending i -to the motor 6 thecurrent from 43 in the op-l The mo'- posite-directicn to the' precedin ytor then rotates the wheel e in t e direction of the-arrow 66 (Fig. 7):the wei ht a recommences tol actuate the clockwor movement as soon asthe click f is disenga ed from the notch h of the drum. During t isrearward movement of the wheel l, the pin 58 describes a halfvrevolution withl this wheel' until the' moment when, supporting the arm37, this pin causes the arbor 35 to oscillate,

causing the 'return of the arm 54 and the fork 29 .to

their first position (Figs. 1 and 4) corresponding to the interruptionofthe current. The

clockwork movement operates thus"under the action of the drivin period of eight hoursy weight aduring'a y "the epiration of the drum 'c whie-the meets the beak 53 of t 131759Offthe wh/eel gl carin ,50 and bringsv about' the same operations.fas'ly abovef-de-` v scribed,ycausing therewinding' of the'oriving4 y wei ht a by a semi-rotation of the drum c.`aving now' described our .1nvention` we Patent.

1. A lclock including an electric motor-for automatically windin thesame, a Winding the driven' Wheel g forestablishing a. circuit Wheel e,a drlven whee g, means actuated by through themotor and causing theforward movement of the winding wheel, and/means controlledbjr thewinding wheel for reversing the circuit and the direction of rotation.of the motor at the end of a Winding operation, the

winding drum of the clock havin a Anotch h, and the'winding wheel havinga c ck f adapted to engage sald notch-in order to transmit a windinmovement to the drum.'

` 2. A c ookI including an electric motor forautomatically windingthesame, a winding wheel e, a driven wheel g, acontact device adaptedwhen moved to one iposition to direction, a spring tending to throw saicontact device 1n one or the other extreme posi-l tion, a' dog 46 `forholding it in an interme- 9s1,15-7 v Si diate position in which thecireuit is broken, names te this speeiation in the presence of an arm 50adapted to withdraw said dog 46 two subscribing Witnesses.

and to be operated by said driven Wheel to JACOB STEIGER.A r

release said Contact device, and an arm 36 JAMES BESANCON. 5 connectedto said Contact device and adapted Witnesses: v f

to be Vactuated by the winding Wheel e. C. DUBOIS,

Imtestimony whereof We'have signed our I T. RICHARD.

